Picking Up the Pieces
by bionic4ever
Summary: NESSA3: A new love may be about to begin as two marriages appear to be in jeopardy.
1. Chapter 1

**Picking Up the Pieces**

Chapter One

4-29-2016

Peggy Austin was well beyond anger; she was livid with fury. She loved Steve intensely, and she'd always felt secure about his love for her, except when it came to Jaime. When Steve got home, he found her on the back porch. She refused to even look at him.

"Peggy?"

"You were certainly gone long enough - again."

"I asked you to come along. You're always welcome to come with me."

"To see the daughter you had with _her_? I'll pass," Peggy said bitterly.

"Peggy, the time I spend with Kelly in non-negotiable," Steve told her gently. "I have every right to get to know my daughter."

"It's not Kelly I'm worried about. Was _she_ there?"

"Jaime? She's Kelly's mother -"

"Was she there?" Peggy repeated.

"Usually she's not; we spend time with Kelly separately. Today, though, as a matter of fact, she was."

"Uh-huh."

"Jaime used to be your best friend -"

"Before she had a daughter with my husband, maybe."

"It wasn't like that, and you know it. Jack Hansen stole a frozen embryo, kept it until he found a surrogate, and -"

"I've heard it already."

"That poor girl went most of her life - all of it that she can remember - with no parent at all."

"So you and Jaime are gonna take her to the circus, for a pony ride and -"

"And now you're being ridiculous," Steve told her, beginning to get angry himself. "We are _not_ going to have this conversation!" He picked up his car keys from the table where he'd set them only minutes before.

"Going to see _her_ again?"

"Kelly got called in to see Stephanie; most likely, she's on an assignment now."

"Not that _her_ - Jaime. You're still in love with her, aren't you?"

"Peggy -"

"This was just the excuse the two of you needed so you could -"

"Peggy!" Steve was almost shouting, out of sheer frustration. "I love you! I married you!"

"Only because _she_ was already married to someone else."

"You don't honestly believe that, do you?" he asked, reaching over to caress his wife's cheek.

She pulled away from his touch. "Steve," she said with quiet fury and deeply-rooted pain, "look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn't have married her in a heartbeat if she hadn't married Oscar."

"I'm not gonna have this conversation with you. I'll call you later, and if you're in a remotely reasonable mood, maybe we can talk."

"Don't bother."

"Fine with me." Steve got into his car and drove away.

------

In Stephanie's office, Steph and James were talking about Kelly, too. "I was gonna ask her out, and now - she's my sister," James lamented.

"Half-sister. Mine, too."

"Yeah, but I don't think you wanted to date her. Or did you?"

"James!"

"Hey...we're not related, are we?"

Steph instantly caught what he was saying. She looked directly at him, about to deliver a sharp retort, and - was that a spark? His eyes seemed to dare her to come closer. Stephanie could stand toe-to-toe with a Hezbollah gunman and not bat an eyelash, but love? Men? Those, she wasn't so good at. She turned and began putting away the papers and files that were scattered across her desk. James grinned and decided to try and get her attention in a more sure-fire fashion. He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on her well-polished desk.

Stephanie walked quietly around the desk to stand, hands-on-hips, in front of him, staring at the offending feet. "Which one?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Which one did you want to lose first?" James removed his feet. "Thank you. Don't you have work you could be doing?"

"Did you know you turn red when you're mad, just like your dad?"

"James..."

"Tell ya what - come out and have a drink with me, and I'll quit picking on you. At least for today."

"Tempting, but I can't tonight. Mountains of work to sift through."

"Come on, Steph. It's after 7:00."

"_Steph-a-nie_."

"Ok, alright - Steph-a-nie - but you do know what they say about 'all work and no play', don't you?"

"In my case, all work and no play makes Stephanie the most powerful woman in the free world."

"I get the message. And I know you think you've got a legacy to uphold, but so do I."

Stephanie laughed. "Yeah, you've got some legacy. Your father told the Secretary of State to take the entire OSI and shove it up -"

"I think I've heard that story once or twice before," James interrupted. He eyed Steph carefully and decided - what the hell - to take a chance. "I'll leave you alone, then, Steph-a-nie, but think about this while you bury yourself in unnecessary bureaucracy." James grabbed his boss tightly in his arms and pulled her way too close. Before she could utter a single word of protest, he kissed her harder and deeper than she'd ever been kissed before until, if you'd asked her, she probably wouldn't have remembered her own name. When he let her go, James grinned at the cute way she blushed, gave her a mock salute and headed out the door. "See ya tomorrow, Steph-a-nie."

------


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

James left the office and headed - alone - to the bar across the street. He was surprised to find his father on one of the bar stools, well on his way to complete inebriation.

"Dad?" James knew Steve had quit drinking almost 30 years earlier, when he and Peggy were married. "What's going on?"

"Your mother," Steve slurred, "women, life in general. But you don't need to get involved in that, Son."

"Gotta be pretty bad to get you in here, and in that shape," James observed.

"Your mother thinks I'm still in love with Jaime."

"Well, aren't you?"

"Not the way she thinks. Jaime and I were very close for a long time, went through Hell and back together. So yeah, there's a piece of my heart that's always gonna belong to her. If that's love, then yes, I love Jaime. But I love your mother, James, and she's the love I wanna spend the rest of my life with. Jaime made her choice a long time ago, and I made mine."

"You named me after her, didn't you?" James asked quietly.

"I named you after my step -" Steve hiccupped - "my stepfather - Jim Elgin."

"Dad..."

"Ok, maybe I did. Or maybe I just like the name. Her daughter's name is Stephanie. That's not the problem. Peggy feels threatened by my spending time with Kelly, and she shouldn't. It's not like Jaime and I had an affair, and we're not having one now, either. When I took marriage vows with your mother, I meant every word. Period." Steve finished his drink and held the glass out to the bartender for a refill.

"Dad, how 'bout you let me drive you home now?"

"Peggy doesn't wanna see me. She's really upset. With me."

"I think she's upset with the situation, not with you." James shook his head at the bartender, to say 'He's done'. "C'mon, Dad. I need to stop up at the office for a second - got an apology to make - and then I'll take you home."

"Maybe I should wait 'til morning. Peggy won't like that I had a little bit to drink."

"A little?" James smiled and shook his head. "I think she'll take that a lot better than if you're gone all night."

------

James knew he'd probably been out of line in the way he'd left Stephanie's office; he couldn't tell if she was angry or had really gotten into it. He expected it was the latter, but he wanted to make sure. Steve insisted on coming with him. This was the same building he'd been banned from, but that was almost 30 years ago. (Damn - he felt old!) Still, it felt a little strange to walk the old hallways again.

They got on the express elevator to the Director's office, and James was immediately clutched by fear. "Dad...look!" On the floor and two of the walls were numerous small splatters of blood, and they looked very fresh. They definitely weren't there when he'd left, less than half an hour earlier. The elevator couldn't get there fast enough for James. His heart pounded wildly as they reached the office suite. The outer office looked relatively undisturbed, but there were a few blood splatters there, as well.

The inner office was a totally different story. The papers Steph was filing were scattered across the floor around her desk. Chairs were overturned, and the phone's cord had been ripped from the wall. They saw several larger blood splatters and a small patch, almost a pool of it, by Stephanie's desk. Steve became instantly sober and clear-headed. "Son, technically you're in charge here, for the moment. But I'd suggest you use the phone in the lobby and call in your best operatives and a lab tech. I'll find another line and call Jaime."

------

James sent the lab tech, Colin Marchetti, up to the suite to take blood samples. Fifteen agents were searching the building and the surrounding area for any sign of Stephanie. James looked at the operatives who surrounded him. Kelly Hansen (back from a very short assignment), Amy and David Wells, the cream of a very elite crop. His father and Jaime had also insisted on being a part of the search. He wished he had more to tell them.

"The blood trail leads to the curb, directly in front of the building. I pulled the security tapes, but every one of them was tampered with, so we have nothing there. We're dealing with professionals, so we have to work fast. Turn all of DC on its ear, if you have to - just find Stephanie."

------


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"...and I mean find her yesterday." James felt a tap on his shoulder. "I'm not done yet," he said sharply. "I don't have to tell you how urgent -" he looked at his operatives. They'd started out wide-eyed and were now all but laughing at him. "Someone care to tell me what you find funny about this?"

Once again, there was a tap on his shoulder. James whirled around, furious. "**_What_**?" Stephanie stood behind him, shaking her head in amusement. "What the - How...?"

"Didn't I tell you I can take care of myself?" she said, not seeming the least bit shaken.

"What about all that blood? Are you hurt?"

"Nope. Well, maybe a few bruised knuckles. One of them...uh...acquired a bloody nose. Gashed the other one's head pretty good when I hit him with a chair." She looked at the three stunned operatives. "Why don't you round everyone up and send 'em home?"

"So where were you?" James asked.

Steph shrugged. "Got 'em both cuffed, took 'em to lock-up."

"And with an office full of blood, you couldn't leave a 'Hey, I'm Alive' note for your assistant?"

"You said you were gone for the night. Tell ya what - buy me a drink and I'll forget all about it."

"Deal," James told her. "Just gotta drive my dad home first."

"I'll give him a ride," Jaime offered.

"Takes care of that," James said. "Shall we?" When he put an arm lightly around Stephanie's waist, she didn't pull away.

------

Once they were alone, Jaime studied Steve's face quietly for a few moments. "You, my friend, look like you're in dire need of a cup or two of strong, black coffee and a friend to talk to."

Steve smiled sadly. "You're right - on both counts."

"I know," she said lightly. They got into her car and she drove the three blocks to the coffee shop. They chose a quiet booth and settled in.

"Talk to me?" she said softly.

"I probably shouldn't," Steve said, taking a healthy gulp of the coffee. "You don't need to be dragged into my problems."

"Steve, we've known each other for what - 60 years? That makes us sound ancient, but it's true. I can read you like a book, and I haven't seen you this down since Dad's funeral. You can talk to me about anything. Lord knows I've leaned on you enough times in the past..."

"It's Peggy. She's on the warpath. She'd string me up by my nether-regions if she knew we were having coffee together."

"C'mon - we've been friends practically forever. Hell, we have a daughter -" she saw Steve's raised eyebrow and instantly understood. "Oh."

"It isn't that I've suddenly got a daughter; it's that I have a daughter _with you_. She's acting like she thinks we had Kelly the 'normal' way. I mean, she's always felt threatened by the fact that we used to be so close, and the fact that we never really 'broke up'. Circumstances pushed us apart. Then we had the audacity to remain friends."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be." Steve took her hand, for emphasis and for human contact. "You didn't do anything wrong, and neither did I. I'm starting to think that if this hadn't happened with Kelly, she'd just find a different reason to be angry. Maybe she got hooked on the adrenaline - the thrill of the fight - from all those years at the OSI."

"It's possible..." Jaime conceded.

"Oscar has no problem with you and I being friends, does he?"

"Not that I know of. I just wish -"

"**_This_** is your emergency?" Peggy had come out of nowhere and was standing in front of the booth. "I should've known! Steve, you lied to me!"

"No, I didn't. There was blood all over the office and we couldn't find Stephanie, and -"

"Just save it! Jaime, you want him this badly, take him; he's always really been yours, anyway. I've had more than enough of playing second fiddle to you."

"Peggy -" Jaime began, very softly, trying to soothe her.

"You can save it, too." Peggy glared at Steve. "Your things will be on the porch in boxes in the morning. Have a good life together!" She stormed out of the coffee shop. Steve made no attempt to go after her.

"She's had enough?" he remarked bitterly. "Well, so have I."

------

Stephanie and James were on their second drink and found that there really was a spark; they couldn't seem to stop gazing into each other's eyes.

"You know," Steph said in a breathless voice, "I'd never really noticed how...not ugly you are."

"Gee, thanks."

"The feet on my desk thing is keeping you from a perfect score."

"I'll make an effort."

------


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Oscar answered the knock at the front door and found Peggy standing on the stoop, looking lost and bereft. "Can I come in?" she asked. "Just for a little while."

"Of course," Oscar said, holding the door open for her. "You're welcome any time."

"I didn't have anyone else to talk to," she told him once they were seated in the den.

"What's got you so unhappy?" Oscar asked.

Peggy blinked back tears. "I...threw Steve out."

"Aw, Peg, I'm sorry. Why?"

"He's cheating."

"Peggy, he loves you. He would never -"

"I caught them together."

"In bed?"

"No - in a coffee shop. But they looked pretty cozy; he was holding her hand."

"Do you know the woman?"

"Yes. And so do you," Peggy said. Oscar raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Oscar, I'm so sorry - it's Jaime. Steve never really did get over her - you know that.

"Now I'm sure you're mistaken."

"Did Jaime tell you there was an emergency at NESSA?" Oscar nodded. "When she gets home, ask her where she was; see if she tells you the truth."

------

Peggy stayed for about an hour and a half, and while Oscar was determined to make her feel better about the situation, the more they talked, the more her view started to rub off on him. He, too, was starting to wonder. Jaime walked in the door at 1:30am, and found Oscar awake, sitting on a chair in the living room and staring at the front door. He did not appear to be happy.

"Get everything taken care of?" he asked.

"Yeah, turned out Steffie was ok the whole time. But you should've seen her office: broken chairs, blood all over -"

"_Blood_?"

"Turns out it wasn't hers. She beat the crap out of two men - with guns!"

"That's our girl. We taught her well," Oscar said.

"We sure did," Jaime agreed, bending down to kiss him.

"What time did she turn up?"

"Around 7:30, quarter to eight."

"You go anywhere else?"

"What?"

"Did you stay and help clean up the office, or did you have somewhere else you needed to go?"

Jaime pulled a chair over next to her husband. "What's with the 3rd degree, all of a sudden? That isn't you."

"Evasiveness generally isn't you, either..."

"Oscar, where is this coming from?"

"_Where did you go, Jaime_?" he insisted softly but firmly.

"Steve and I went to the coffee shop and talked for awhile. Peggy threw him out tonight."

"I know all about it. Including the coffee shop."

"You knew? Then what's up with the interrogation?"

"I wanted to see if you'd tell me the truth; you did. Thank you."

"We've been married 35 years, and all of a sudden you have to _test_ me? Why?"

"Aside from the fact that you were holding hands in the coffee shop, Peggy says you're the one who broke up their marriage."

"That witch!" Jaime seethed. "I don't know what's happened to her brain, but it's obviously not connected to the rest of her anymore!"

"She said you and Steve have never really let go of each other," Oscar said, very quietly.

"That, I won't even dignify with an answer," Jaime said with tears in her eyes for the first time in many years. She turned away from her husband, walked back out the front door and went running at bionic speed, trying to lose the hurt, pain and confusion.

------

Jaime ran all the way to the other side of DC, to the stream she called her best 'thinking spot'. To her surprise, at 2:15 in the morning, there was already someone sitting there, thinking.

"Steve?"

"Couldn't sleep," he told her without turning around. When she sat down next to him and he finally saw her face, his own problems suddenly disappeared in his concern for what Jaime might be going through. "You've been crying," he noted. "Tell me?"

Jaime laughed bitterly. "For all the people who've accused us of sleeping together, we might as well be..."

"Not Oscar, too?"

"Yep. Peggy paid him a visit."

"Dammit! She can't leave well enough alone?"

"I think she feels that if her marriage is in trouble, I shouldn't get off scot-free. Maybe she's right..."

Steve shook his head. "You don't really believe that?" Jaime stared out at the water and didn't answer. "Jaime, Oscar loves you. I'll bet he's waiting for you right now, with an apology for whatever he said or did."

"Maybe...but -"

"No 'but's' allowed. Jaime, I don't have a marriage or a home to go to anymore - and that's been coming for a long time - but you still do. You've got a husband who loves you dearly, and that's a lot more precious than you realize. Please don't throw that away; not even temporarily. It's too hard to get it back again."

"When did you get so smart, Austin?" she said, getting up. "Thank you." She smiled at her former love and took off at maximum speed, back to her husband.

END


End file.
